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A Step-by-Step First Time Seller's Guide

Putting your home on the market can be a stressful process, especially when you don’t know what to expect. Fortunately, with the help of an experienced agent and this easy to follow guide, you can smoothly complete the process. Following these steps will help you prepare so you can get organized and sell your home for the best price possible.​​​​​​​

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Step 1: Understand Why You're Selling

What do you want to accomplish with the sale of your home? Do you want to make a certain amount of money that you can put toward a larger or nicer home? Do you need to sell it as soon as possible to facilitate a move to a new city or area? Once you understand your needs, you can better craft your offer. For example, if you need to sell quickly, you might want to price your home lower than if your goal is to make a certain profit margin. Make sure you convey these needs to your REALTOR® once you choose one so he or she can adjust your selling price accordingly.

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Step 2: Determine Selling Price

Knowing how to price your home is one of the most important parts of the selling process. When you set a fair price in the beginning, you’ll get the most interest from other real estate agents and prospective buyers. Overpricing your home could lead to reduced interest, and underpricing leads to receiving less than what your home is worth. Working with a real estate agent is the best way to determine the right selling price for your home. An agent with experience can determine what other comparable homes are selling for, evaluate the current market, and may even suggest a home appraisal.

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Step 3: Start Preparations

If you’ve kept your home in showroom condition since you’ve lived in it, you’re in the minority of homeowners. Once you price your home, it’s time to start getting it ready to be shown to potential buyers. This includes getting rid of clutter, depersonalizing the space so that buyers can envision themselves in the space, making any small repairs, and doing a deep clean to make sure your home is in pristine condition.

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Step 4: Develop a Marketing Strategy

I will develop a marketing strategy that is perfect for advertising your home. This involves listing the home and then driving the right people to that listing through social media campaigns, agent-to-agent referrals, traditional media, or SEO advertising. My team creates a marketing campaign that aims to get the most possible traffic to your listing in the first three weeks after becoming a client.

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Step 5: Evaluate Offers

Receiving an offer is an exciting part of the process, but it doesn’t mean the journey is over. I will evaluate each offer and make sure the party making the offer is prequalified or pre-approved by a mortgage lender and that their offer is acceptable to you. If the offer is too low, you can make a counter-offer or offer other ways to bridge the gap, such as covering some or all of the closing costs, making repairs, adjusting the move-in date, or leaving some appliances or fixtures for the new buyer.

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Step 6: Accept an Offer

Once I deem the offer is acceptable, I will review the proposed contract to make sure it’s all in order and includes the necessary components such as deposit amount, down payment, financing, inspection rights and repair allowances, contingencies, settlement date, and a list of fees and who will pay them. When both parties have agreed to the term, a final contract will be prepared by your agent.

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Step 7: Get Ready to Close

You have accepted an offer and are now very close to the end of your selling journey. But first, you and the buyer must make a list of what needs to be done before closing. In some cases, your home may need to be formally inspected, surveyed, and appraised. In other cases, major or minor repairs will need to be made before the house can close. I will head up efforts to develop and execute this list, get each action item paid for by the correct party, and make sure everything is in order by the closing date. A few days before the closing date, we will call the company closing the transaction to make sure everything is ready to go. If you haven’t done so already, you also need to make arrangements to move out of the home so the new buyer can take possession.

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Step 8: Close

You’ve reached the last step in the seller’s process. When you close on a home you are selling, you are legally transferring ownership of the property to the new buyer. I will meet with the company closing the transaction to sign the final paperwork and go over any issues that have not yet been taken care of. During this time, you can also make plans with your REALTOR® to handle final details such as canceling utilities, cable, and lawn or trash services, changing the name on accounts that the new owner is retaining and ensuring the new owner has instructions for all appliances that will remain in the home.

Congratulations!

Once you have sold your home, you’re free to take the next step on your journey. Whether this is relocating to a new city, moving into a larger home, or downsizing and enjoying your life as empty-nesters, knowing all your selling responsibilities have been taken care of will help you achieve peace of mind for your new path.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

We are so grateful that we decided to work with Sara and her team because there is no way we would’ve gotten top dollar for our home. They helped us make small changes in order to get the most value.

— Seller

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Sara and her team clearly care about the people they work with, and their integrity and caring nature are evident in every interaction. There are many agents out there but if you want an agent who truly cares, wants the best for you, fights for you, works hard for you and does not cut corners, then you need to contact The Farsani Group.

— Buyer

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Sara and her team are absolutely wonderful, thorough and professional, very experienced, always available and responsive Sara has a kind heart and a fighting spirit, a perfect combo in a Realtor®.

— Buyer

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

The Farsani group was remarkably helpful and they worked well beyond what one could expect.

— Buyer

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

The Farsani Group is a hard-working team that will hustle and do whatever it takes to get you what you want.

— Seller

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Sara and her team were incredible from the first moment until the last and even after we closed. They were so thoughtful in everything they did and we were their top priority. They checked in every day. Yes, every day.

— Buyer

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

The Farsani Group immediately recognized that a minor remodel would drive greater value for the property. We gave them complete oversight and indeed we came out ahead. Very grateful for her expertise and attention to detail.

— Seller

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Sara and her team are very thorough and go above and beyond to make the process as easy as possible.

— Seller

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Sara is hands down The Best. My dad passed away and I had to sell his house thru probate. As you all know probate properties are very difficult and time-consuming. After several Realtor® interviews, I found Sara. She knew I needed her help in selling my dad’s home ASAP. She welcomed the challenge with open arms. With her help, we interviewed 5 probate Attorneys and were able to find the best one which tu...

— Salomeh K.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Sara has a kind heart and a fighting spirit, a perfect combo in a Realtor®. We had worked with a number of Realtors® prior to meeting Sara, and we were pretty worn down with the home buying process. Then we met Sara, who was so different from the other Realtors® we had worked with, Sara works hard for her clients, and has so much integrity and savviness. Sara goes above and beyond to take care of her cli...

— Samara W.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

We have a property management company and we refer all of our clients interested in buying or selling to Sara. We recently referred one of our tenants that was interested in purchasing a home to Sara and she found them the home of their dreams. She figured out their budget, got them in touch with a top-notch lender to get them pre-approved, and worked with their lease dates to ensure a smooth transition ...

— Jenny Y.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Sara was incredible from the first moment until the last and even after we closed. She was so thoughtful in everything she did and we were her top priority. She checked in every day. Yes, every day. She stayed on top of our lender and escrow to make sure we closed in 30 days. The lender was dragging and Sara really kept on them and never gave up and made it happen when we all thought we wouldn't be able ...

— Alex S.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Sara was an absolute Gem to work with and she made the entire process so smooth and easy. Any questions we had or if we were not sure about something, she always responded right away and made us feel at ease every single step of the way. There are many agents out there but if you want an Agent who truly cares, wants the best for you, fights for you works hard for you, and does not cut corners, then you n...

— Hengameh H.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Sara is wonderful to work with. My mom passed away this year and Sara worked with my Dad to find a vacation home in the state we live in. We look forward to making memories with my father in this home that we only snagged because of Sara’s expertise and dedication. After we located the home Sara followed up immediately with the other agent to ensure we got it. During the entire buying process, through es...

— Elise W.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Sara was a joy to work with and was vested in helping my family make the best decision. She was available to us to answer questions about the different areas we were interested in and was very responsive to our emails and text. Being new to SoCal and the purchasing process here she explained it all to us to make sure we understood and felt comfortable; she was very patient. She even worked with me on a d...

— Fatuma W.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

We were referred to Sara by a friend of ours that recently bought and sold their home. Selling our first home wasn't easy on us since this was the home we brought our baby home to but we are so glad we worked with Sara. Sara was kind and patient through the process but was able to get us everything we wanted and more through negotiations. We are so grateful that we decided to work with Sara because there...

— Ghazal T.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Sara is an absolute joy to work with. She helped us sell a much-beloved family home as we moved out of state, and she very patiently heard all our requests and found us the perfect buyers who would take care of our house as we would have. Sara is thorough, very knowledgeable, has excellent communication skills, and will be a true partner who will have your interest at heart throughout the whole process. ...

— Maria M.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Sara is a hard-working agent who will hustle and do whatever it takes to get you what you want. She represented us on both selling our home in Irvine (Orange County) and buying a home in San Marcos (North San Diego County) and did a wonderful job on both deals during the unchartered waters of Covid. She is knowledgeable, patient and now feels like family to us. As a new mom, I was worried about disturbin...

— Buyer & Seller

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

First I was not even sure if I really wanted to purchase or better to say if I really could afford to buy a house until I met Sara through an old friend of mine. I can now definitely claim that Sara was a golden ticket for me with the whole process, from A to Z. Sara was remarkably helpful and she worked well beyond what one could expect. She is absolutely wonderful, thorough and professional, very exper...

— Ladan V.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Selling and buying a home during COVID? I was thinking that was insane until we met Sara. Sara has been hands down very supportive and helpful during this entire process, especially during unprecedented times. She's been incredibly responsive, adaptive, and knowledgeable every step of the way. Sara is very dedicated to her clients and stands behind her work, and we cannot wait to refer our friends and fa...

— Buyer & Seller

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Sara is very thorough and goes above and beyond to make the process as easy as possible. We asked Sara to sell one of our Southern California properties. She immediately recognized that a minor remodel would drive greater value for the property. We gave Sara complete oversight and indeed we came out ahead! Very grateful for her expertise and attention to detail. Looking forward to working with Sara again...

— Rebecca F.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Sara is all around a wonderful Real Estate Agent to work with. She is strategic, honest, and practical when she advises. With Sara, you will never have to ask her twice to remember or do anything she just knows and gets back to you. She will go to bat for you and keep your best interest at heart. I highly recommend working with Sara, you will be sure to have a wonderful, seamless, and enjoyable experience.

— Kimberly V.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

I've worked with Sara on several transactions. She works extremely hard to make sure her clients are well informed and taken care of. She knows how to get an offer accepted, which is a talent that is extremely important in the current competitive environment. I'd recommend Sara to any home buyers or sellers who want an aggressive, hard-working, intelligent Realtor® working in their corner.

— Tim S.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Sara was fantastic. She made the entire process seamless. Sara communicated everything to us thoroughly and promptly. If we had a question or request she responded quickly. Not only is Sara diligent but she also truly cares about her clients and them being thrilled with their new home. I would highly recommend Sara and would definitely use her in the future. Thank you, Sara.

— Kristine C.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Best experience ever. She will fight for you. We did not get expect to get the cost of this brand new home down so low. But she did. Every neighbor here has said incredible things about their experience with her. My daughter wants to be a real estate agent now because of her interactions with her.

— JC F.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Sara is very communicative, patient, and knowledgeable. Always on top of things and ready to answer any questions I had. She is a great negotiator and has a lot of positive energy, along with her no BS attitude, oh my, this is exactly what everyone should be looking for as a Realtor®.

— Ashley K.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Sara is extremely patient and goes above and beyond. She will also tell you her honest opinion and not push you to make a rash decision- In the end, we were able to close on my home for the right price with fees included. Highly recommend.

— Buyer

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

What an amazing Realtor® and person in general. Sara went above and beyond and helped me find the home of my dreams. I trust her and would not hesitate to use her again for any future home purchases. Thank you.

— Terry F.

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